In this world of instant image management and quick intro snippets, your first impressions do last. As a doctor, you are patient-inundated, nurse-interrupted, time-limited, ego-conscious and sociably-challenged. Hence the way you introduce yourself may determine whether or not you start on the right footing with your patients. How do you introduce yourself?
Here are a few options you may consider. We have not yet run a fully randomised control trial, because these have not been put through the ethics committee, and no big pharmaceutical company is willing to sponsor the research. But some of these have been extensively studied and found to be quite effective in leaving a lasting impression:
If you are a Cardiologist:
“Hi. I am a doctor to the broken-hearted.”
If you are an Anaesthetist:
“Hi. I pass gas.”
If you’re a Neurologist:
“Hi. I’m your electrician.”
If you are a Urologist:
“Wee. I’m your plumber.”
If you are an Orthopod:
“You. Bone. Broke. Me. Fix”
If you are a Paediatrician:
“Peekaboo…”
If you are an ENT:
“Hi, I am your waxing specialist. I don’t do legs. I do ear wax.”
Or,
“Hi, people poke their tongues at me.”
Or,
“Hi, I am you otorhinolaryngologist. No, not automatic ventriloquist. Otorhinolaryngologist. Oops, sorry I sprayed some saliva there.”
If you are an Ophthalmologist:
“Hi, I’m your iDoctor. My iPhone app tells me you need an eyePad.”
If you are a Neonatologist:
“Hi, baby.”
If you are a Radiologist:
“Hi, please switch off the light.”
If you are a Colorectal Surgeon:
“Hi. I’m a shit magnet.”
If you are a Plastic Surgeon:
“Hi. I take cash, credit or cheque”
If you are a Psychiatrist:
“Hi. You can hear me. But you can’t see me.”
So how else would you introduce yourself to leave a lasting impression on your patients?
Thanks to Nick Bennett @peds_id_doc
If you are an Infectious Diseases Specialist:
“Hi, you’ve got the bugs, we’ve got the drugs”